WWE Royal Rumble 2024

By Steve Ward

The WWE kicked off the road to Wrestlemania this evening as the Royal Rumble emanated from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. This evening’s event featured a men’s and women’s Royal Rumble match, as well as, a Fatal Four Way Match for the Undisputed Universal Championship as Roman Reigns put his 1,245 day title reign on the line against AJ Styles, Randy Orton, and LA Knight.

Women’s Royal Rumble Match

Winner: Bayley

Order of entry:

Natalya

Naomi

Bayley

Candice LeRae

Jordynne Grace

Indi Hartwell

Asuka

Ivy Nile

Katana Chance

Bianca Belair

Kairi Sane

Tegan Nox

Kayden Carter

Chelsea Green

Piper Niven

Xia Li

Zelina Vega

Maxxine Dupri

Nia Jax

Shotzi

Becky Lynch

Alba Fyre

Shayna Baszler

Valhalla

Michin

Zoey Stark

Roxanne Perez

Jade Cargill

Tiffany Stratton

Liv Morgan

Final Three: Jade Cargill, Bayley, Liv Morgan (Tiffany Stratton and Bianca Belair were simultaneously eliminated off the apron by Bayley)

In the final moments, all three women battled on the ring apron. First, Morgan shockingly tossed Cargill off the apron. Next, Bayley, ever the opportunist, kicked Liv’s legs out from under her for the elimination and to punch her ticket to Lincoln Financial Field for Wrestlemania.

Undisputed Universal Championship Fatal Four Way Match

Roman Reigns (c) w/ Paul Heyman vs. AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton vs. LA Knight

Winner: Roman Reigns via pinfall

Several weeks ago on Smackdown, Styles, Knight, and Orton competed in a Triple Threat Match to determine Reigns’ opponent for tonight’s event, however, The Bloodline ensured that no winner was determined. As a result of their actions, Smackdown general manager Nick Aldis declared that all three men would compete against Reigns tonight. In the closing moments, Reigns appeared to be in dire straits after a barrage of chair shots from AJ Styles and a massive elbow drop from LA Knight. Knight then attempted the BFT but Reigns countered and propelled him into the ropes where Styles was preparing to deliver a Phenomenal Forearm. Styles was knocked off the ropes and Reigns took advantage by executing a body crumbling spear to secure the pinfall and retain his title.

WWE United States Championship 

Logan Paul (c) vs. Kevin Owens

Winner: Logan Paul via disqualification

In the closing moments of the contest, Grayson Waller and Austin Theory made their way to ringside. Theory proceeded to slip brass knuckles to Logan Paul, however, Kevin Owens ripped them off his hand before he could be struck and turned around to use them on Paul. As Owens went for the pinfall, the referee saw the brass knuckles on Owens’ hand and disqualified him.

Men’s Royal Rumble Match

Winner: Cody Rhodes

Order of entry:

Jey Uso

Jimmy Uso

Grayson Waller

Andrade

Carmelo Hayes

Shinsuke Nakamura

Santos Escobar

Karrion Kross

Dominik Mysterio

Carlito

Bobby Lashley

Ludwig Kaiser

Austin Theory

Finn Balor

Cody Rhodes

Bronson Reed

Kofi Kingston

Gunther

Ivar

Bron Breakker

Omos w/ MVP

Pat McAfee

JD McDonagh

R-Truth

The Miz

Damian Priest

CM Punk

Ricochet

Drew McIntyre

Sami Zayn

Final Four: Drew McIntyre, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, and Gunther

In the closing moments of the match, Punk surprised McIntyre near the ropes and hoisted him up on his shoulders and dumped him out of the ring. Next, Rhodes dragged Gunther by his head and pulled him over the top rope leaving Punk and Rhodes. Punk then attempted the Go To Sleep, however, Rhodes escaped and tossed Punk out to win for the second year in a row.

Following the match, Rhodes directed his attention to the skybox, where Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman were seated, and pointed at The Tribal Chief setting up a rematch of their encounter from last year’s Showcase of the Immortals.

WWE Royal Rumble 2023

By Steve Ward

The road to Wrestlemania officially kicked off this evening as the Royal Rumble emanated from a sold out Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. This evening’s stacked card featured five matches with two titles contested and was headlined by the Men’s and Women’s 30-participant over the top battle royals. While the return of Cody Rhodes has already been confirmed for the match, there has also been the annual air of speculation with what surprises could be in store with one popular theory being the return of The Rock which would potentially set up a showdown at the Showcase of the Immortals with his cousin Roman Reigns - assuming he retains his title in a showdown with Kevin Owens.

Men’s Royal Rumble Match

Winner: Cody Rhodes

Quite to my surprise, this year’s show opened with the Men’s Royal Rumble Match - possibly to set up a face to face with the winner of the Universal Championship Match.

Participants:

Gunther

Sheamus

The Miz

Kofi Kingston

Johnny Gargano

Xavier Woods

Karrion Kross

Chad Gable

Drew McIntyre

Santos Escobar

Angelo Dawkins

Brock Lesnar

Bobby Lashley

Baron Corbin

Seth Rollins

Otis

Rey Mysterio (never entered the match after he was allegedly jumped by Dominik Mysterio

backstage)

Dominik Mysterio

Elias

Finn Balor

Booker T

Damian Priest

Montez Ford

Edge

Austin Theory

Omos

Braun Strowman

Ricochet

Logan Paul

Cody Rhodes

In the closing moments, the commentators believed the final four to be Gunther, Cody, Rollins, and Austin Theory. Theory was the first to go thanks to a clothesline from Cody Rhodes. Next, Logan Paul (thought to be out of the match) returned to eliminate Seth Rollins. Next, Cody hit the Cross Rhodes on Logan and promptly eliminated him. This left the Intercontinental Champion, Gunther, who set the record for longest time in a traditional Royal Rumble match, and the returning Cody Rhodes. In the closing moments, Cody hit the Cross Rhodes on Gunther and then promptly dumped him over the top rope to solidify his victory.

Sadly, this match had only one real surprise in Booker T and the booking was simply lazy by saving the one participant who everyone knew was in the match for #30 - this received a chorus of boos from the WWE Universe when Logan Paul entered at 29 which solidified Cody for 30 removing any air of mystique.

Mountain Dew Pitch Black Match

Bray Wyatt vs. LA Knight

Winner: Bray Wyatt via pinfall

The past several weeks has seen LA Knight (who many better recognize as Eli Drake from his Impact and NWA days) finally receive a significant push, following his abysmal Maximum Male Models program, with Bray Wyatt. Not much was known about the match stipulations heading into this event except that anything goes and the identity of Uncle Howdy could possibly be revealed.

Once the bell rang, the normal lights went out revealing a black light reactive ring so essentially this was a hardcore match in what looked like a ring that would fit in at a glow in the dark mini golf course. In a rather short affair, Wyatt put Knight away with the Sister Abigail.

RAW Women’s Championship

Alexa Bliss vs. Bianca Belair (c) 

Winner: Bianca Belair via pinfall

In a rather uneventful match, Belair put Bliss away with the KOD in rather short order to retain her title. Following the match, an eerie vignette played in the arena displaying Bliss from her time under Bray Wyatt’s “control” seemingly foreshadowing an upcoming turn in character for her.

Women’s Royal Rumble Match

Winner: Rhea Ripley

 

Participants:

Rhea Ripley

Liv Morgan

Dana Brooke

Emma

Shayna Baszler

Bayley

B-Fab

Roxanne Perez

Dakota Kai

Iyo Sky

Natalya

Candice Lerae

Zoey Stark

Xia Li

Becky Lynch

Tegan Nox

Asuka

Piper Niven

Tamina

Chelsea Green

Zelina Vega

Raquel Rodriguez

Mia Yim

Lacey Evans

Michelle McCool

Indi Hartwell

Sonya Deville

Shotzi

Nikki Cross

Nia Jax

The final four in the Women’s Royal Rumble came down to Asuka, Nikki Cross, Liv Morgan, and Rhea Ripley. The first to be eliminated was Nikki Cross at the hands of Liv Morgan as she stood on the ring apron attempting to eliminate Asuka. Minutes later, all three women found themselves standing on the apron. Asuka delivered the mist to the face of Liv and Ripley proceeded to kick Asuka’s legs out from under her sending her to the floor. Then a “blinded” Liv was launched from the ring apron as Ripley hung from the top rope and lifted her legs up around Liv’s head to eliminate her and punch her ticket to Wrestlemania.

Undisputed Universal Championship

Roman Reigns (c) w/ Paul Heyman & Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens

Winner: Roman Reigns via pinfall

This match really only seemed to manifest because of the longstanding history between the “Honorary Uce” Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens with Zayn’s loyalty being questioned for months. Tonight, Reigns absolutely steamrolled Owens enroute to yet another successful defense of his title as his historic reign continues.

After the match, the beat down of Owens continued until he found himself handcuffed to the ring ropes. The Usos proceeded to deliver countless super kicks to Owens until Reigns picked up a steel chair and gave it to Zayn to finish the job. A conflicted Zayn proceeded to strike The Tribal Chief instead and received a beat down of his own for his efforts by The Bloodline, with the exception of Jey Uso who had his own conflict of conscience and walked out of the arena. The remainder of the Bloodline proceeded to exit the arena unified as they basked in their victory.

Royal Rumble 2022 Recap

By Steve Ward

The Road to Wrestlemania kicked off this evening as the WWE Royal Rumble emanated from The Dome at America Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The stakes don’t get much bigger than the spoils that go to the victor of the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches as the winners of the respective battle royals earn the opportunity to challenge the champion of their desire at The Showcase of the Immortals, Wrestlemania. Aside from the Royal Rumble matches, this evening’s card also featured four additional matches with three titles contested - including Brock Lesnar versus Bobby Lashley for the WWE Championship.

WWE Universal Championship

Roman Reigns (c) vs. Seth Rollins

Winner: Seth Rollins via disqualification

The Royal Rumble hit the ground running as it kicked off with “The Head of the Table” attempting to defend his coveted Universal Championship against his former Shield stablemate, Seth Rollins. Arguably, one could make the case that the biggest factor in the match would be Roman’s cousins, The Usos, being banned from ringside. Rollins commenced with the mind games before the opening bell as he decided to make his way to the ring to the Shield’s old entrance music in his throwback wrestling gear. Seth Rollins ran roughshod over Roman Reigns in the early stages of the bout as he landed signature move after signature move including the frog splash and curb stomp, however, The Tribal Chief rallied back to assert his dominance. The match arrived at it’s anticlimactic conclusion as Reigns cinched in a guillotine choke. As referee Charles Robinson raised Rollins’ hand to determine whether he was still conscious, Rollins’ hand landed on the ring rope. Reigns refused to break the hold which lead to his disqualification, however, a title cannot change hands in this manner so Roman retained his title. Reigns proceeded to lay waste to Rollins after the match with a barrage of chair shots before he exited the arena to a chorus of boos from the capacity crowd.

Women’s Royal Rumble Match

Winner: Ronda Rousey

Entrants:

1. Sasha Banks

2. Melina

3. Tamina

4. Kelly Kelly

5. Aliyah

6. Liv Morgan

7. Queen Zelina

8. Bianca Belair

9. Dana Brooke

10. Michelle McCool

11. Sonya Deville

12. Natalya

13. Cameron

14. Naomi

15. Carmella

16. Rhea Ripley

17. Charlotte Flair

18. Ivory

19. Brie Bella

20. Impact Women’s Champion Mickie James

21. Alicia Fox

22. Nikki A.S.H.

23. Summer Rae

24. Nikki Bella

25. Sarah Logan

26. Lita

27. Molly Holly

28. Ronda Rousey

29. Shotzi

30. Shayna Baszler

Final Four: Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair, Shayna Baszler, and Ronda Rousey

In the closing moments, Charlotte Flair quickly eliminated Bianca and Shayna as the two jockeyed for position on the ring apron leaving her alone in the ring with the returning Ronda Rousey. Charlotte wasted no time charging Rousey with a running big boot attempt only to be caught and promptly dumped over the top rope. The biggest surprise of the match has now punched her ticket to Wrestlemania where she will have the opportunity to challenge the champion of her choosing.

RAW Women’s Championship

Becky Lynch (c) vs. Doudrop

Winner: Becky Lynch via pinfall

While Becky Lynch has been in some instant classics throughout her career, this wasn’t one of them. In my opinion, this match would’ve been exponentially better if it had been about five minutes shorter. After struggling to put away the significantly larger Doudrop for much of the bout, Big Time Becks finally caught the challenger up on the middle rope where she launched her to the canvas with a Manhandle Slam to secure the victory.

WWE Championship

Brock Lesnar (c) w/ Paul Heyman vs. Bobby Lashley w/ MVP

Winner: Bobby Lashley via pinfall

The long awaited showdown, 20 years in the making, finally arrived this evening as two men with impressive backgrounds in amateur wrestling and MMA stood toe to toe with championship gold and a probable spot in the main event at Wrestlemania on the line. What began as a clash of titans would end in a shroud of controversy and betrayal. Late in the match Brock delivered an F5 to Lashley striking the referee in the process. As Brock had his back turned to the entrance ramp, Roman Reigns made his way to the ring and greeted Lesnar with a devastating spear. Next in a shocking turn of events, Paul Heyman handed the WWE Championship to Reigns who delivered a crushing blow to Lesnar’s skull allowing Lashley to cover him for the pinfall as a new referee made his way into the ring.

Edge & Beth Phoenix vs. The Miz & Maryse

Winners: Edge & Beth Phoenix via pinfall

While I would rather have seen Edge and The Miz in the Royal Rumble match instead of some of the low to mid carders scheduled, this match served it’s purpose to keep the crowd involved in the lead up to the men’s battle royal. The closing came as Edge and Beth executed a double team spear on The Miz. Next, Beth delivered a Glamazon Slam to Maryse as Edge did the same to the Miz before they delivered pins for the victory.

Men’s Royal Rumble Match

Winner: Brock Lesnar

Entrants:

1. A.J. Styles

2. Shinsuke Nakamura

3. Austin Theory

4. Robert Roode

5. Ridge Holland

6. Montez Ford

7. Damian Priest

8. Sami Zayn

9. Johnny Knoxville

10. Angelo Dawkins

11. Omos

12. Ricochet

13. Chad Gable

14. Dominik Mysterio

15. Happy Corbin

16. Dolph Ziggler

17. Sheamus

18. Rick Boogs

19. Madcap Moss

20. Matt Riddle

21. Drew McIntyre

22. Kevin Owens

23. Rey Mysterio

24. Kofi Kingston

25. Otis

26. Big E

27. Bad Bunny

28. Shane McMahon

29. Randy Orton

30. Brock Lesnar

Final Four: Brock Lesnar, Matt Riddle, Shane McMahon, Drew McIntyre

What was gearing up to become the worst Royal Rumble match in WWE history quickly redeemed itself as Brock Lesnar made a shocking entrance into the fray at number 30 with vengeance on his mind following the outcome of his WWE Championship earlier in the evening. Brock first tossed Riddle out like a rag doll and then clotheslined Shane over the top rope leaving him face to face with Drew McIntyre. Brock finally hoisted Drew up on his shoulders and F5’d him from the ring to punch his ticket for Wrestlemania with authority.

WWE Royal Rumble 2021

By Steve Ward

Despite relocating the Thunderdome from Orlando’s Amway Center to the significantly larger Tropicana Field, despite the state of Florida exhibiting some of the lowest COVID infection rates in the country, despite AEW continuing to host fans for the past several months, and despite several NHL and NFL teams welcoming back fans, the WWE continues to utilize the dystopian setting of virtual fans. All ranting aside, the 34th annual Royal Rumble and official beginning of the Road to Wrestlemania emanated from the aforementioned Thunderdome at Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay, Florida. This evening’s card featured five matches including the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches with the respective winners securing championship opportunities at Wrestlemania.

WWE Championship

Goldberg vs. Drew McIntyre (c)

Winner: Drew McIntyre via pinfall

This match came to fruition several weeks ago when Monday Night RAW hosted Legends Night. After McIntyre defeated Keith Lee in the main event of the evening, Goldberg confronted the champion in the ring and told him the one thing he didn’t have was the respect of the other wrestlers as he proceeded to challenge him for his coveted belt. In my opinion, this was WWE’s answer to the recent AEW signing of the legendary Sting - but I digress. This contest started with a bang as McIntyre speared Goldberg propelling him from the ring. Goldberg quickly turned the tables first Irish-whipping him into the steel ring stairs and then delivering his own spear putting the champ through the ringside barrier. Goldberg withstood the first Claymore Kick from McIntyre and answered with a pair of spears followed by his patented Jackhammer. This was not enough as McIntyre kicked out of Goldberg’s pinfall attempt. McIntyre then dodged a subsequent spear attempt by Goldberg and answered with another Claymore kick to secure the pinfall and retain his title.

Smackdown Women’s Championship

Carmella w/ Reginald vs. Sasha Banks (c)

Winner: Sasha Banks via submission

The most entertaining part of this match occurred when Sasha Banks delivered a hurricanrana to Reginald that subsequently lead to his ejection from ringside by the referee. The merciful conclusion of this bout arrived when Banks withstood a kick to the jaw by Carmella and answered with the Bank Statement for the submission victory.

Women’s Royal Rumble Match

Winner: Bianca Belair

Bayley and Naomi found themselves as the unlucky recipients of numbers one and two. While the two women made solid 30+ minute showings for themselves, neither made it to the final four. This match was rather short on surpises with only three in the form of Jillian Hall, Victoria, and Torrie Wilson while the field was supplemented with NXT stars to compliment those from RAW and Smackdown. The final four contestants were Bianca Belair, Natalya, Rhea Ripley, and Charlotte Flair. As Natalya taunted Ripley instead of finishing off the elimination, Belair dumped Neidhart over the top rope. Flair was then muscled over the top rope by Ripley and subsequently knocked off the ring apron by Belair and Ripley. This left Belair and Ripley as the final two combatants. Belair then punched her ticket to Wrestlemania as she clotheslined Ripley over the top rope.

Here is the complete list of the entrants:

1 Bayley

2 Naomi

3 Bianca Belair

4 Billie Kay

5 Shotzi Blackheart

6 Shayna Baszler

7 Toni Storm

8 Jillian Hall

9 Ruby Riott

10 Victoria

11 Peyton Royce

12 Santana Garrett

13 Liv Morgan

14 Rhea Ripley

15 Charlotte Flair

16 Dana Brooke

17 Torrie Wilson

18 Lacey Evans

19 Mickie James

20 Nikki Cross

21 Alicia Fox

22 Mandy Rose

23 Dakota Kai

24 Carmella

25 Tamina

26 Lana

27 Alexa Bliss

28 Ember Moon

29 Nia Jax

30 Nataly

WWE Universal Championship Last Man Standing Match

Roman Reigns (c) w/ Paul Heyman vs. Kevin Owens

Winner: Roman Reigns

The next chapter in the ongoing rivalry between Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens was written this evening as the two men stood toe to toe again with championship gold on the line under Last Man Standing rules. For those in need of a refresher, this means that the winner would be decided after beating his opponent to the point where he would be unable to answer the referee’s 10-count. Roman Reigns faced a close call late in the match when he was handcuffed to a portion of the entrance scaffolding that left him in a seated position unable to get his feet beneath him. As the referee reached the count of nine, Reigns grabbed him by the collar and launched him headfirst into another part of the scaffolding knocking him out in the process. Owens then sought to capitalize on the situation but was met with a shot between the pipes. Paul Heyman then came to the rescue with a handcuff key and as Roman was freed, he proceeded to put Owens in a guillotine choke leaving him lifeless as the referee completed his 10 count.

Men’s Royal Rumble Match

Winner: Edge 

After suffering a torn triceps in a match with Orton that put him out of action for seven months, Edge found himself face to face with the Viper as they drew numbers one and two to start the match. The two combatants broke out into a brutal confrontation that eventually saw Edge seemingly take Orton out of the match after he laid waste to his knee with a steel chair. Unlike the women’s match, the men’s featured some great surprises including Kane, Christian, Carlito, and The Hurricane, as well as, the return of Seth Rollins from paternity leave. The closing moments of the match was a vicious flurry of action. First, Braun Strowman and Christian were knocked off the ring apron and eliminated by Seth Rollins. Edge then quickly avenged Christian as he tossed Rollins over the top rope. At this moment Orton returned from the trainer’s table and stunned Edge with an RKO Outta Nowhere but Edge reversed his attempt to throw him out and launched the Viper from the ring to punch his ticket to the main event at Wrestlemania!!! 

Here is the complete list of entrants:

1 Edge

2 Randy Orton

3 Sami Zayn

4 Mustafa Ali

5 Jeff Hardy

6 Dolph Ziggler

7 Shinsuke Nakamura

8 Carlito

9 Xavier Woods

10 Big E

11 John Morrison

12 Ricochet

13 Elias

14 Damian Priest

15 The Miz

16 Matt Riddle

17 Daniel Bryan

18 Kane

19 King Corbin

20 Otis

21 Dominik Mysterio

22 Bobby Lashley

23 The Hurricane

24 Christian

25 AJ Styles

26 Rey Mysterio

27 Sheamus

28 Cesaro

29 Seth Rollins

30 Braun Strowman

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